There were few surprises on the opening day of the 2023 FIBA World Cup, but still plenty of fantastic plays, and individual and team performances.
Talent trumped all on the opening day of the FIBA World Cup. Some final scores and team performances are fair cause for concern and elation alike.
Three Points: FIBA World Cup opening day takeaways
Canada proved they're going for gold vs. France
This was the marquee match-up of the day. France, a renowned force in the international basketball world with a talented roster up against Canada, the highly regarded new kids on the block.
Would France's experience make up the talent gap? Who would be their primary ball handler? Would Canada crumble under high expectations? Would their reliance on NBA talent hurt them with some key FIBA rule differences?
Canada answered all of this pretty quickly, winning 95-65. They walked all over France, particularly in the third quarter where they pulled away, posting a 25-8 advantage in the period.
Canada applied relentless ball pressure and stalwart perimeter defense. The French struggled to break them down off the dribble, and for some reason, head coach Vincent Collet decided to regularly play Rudy Gobert and Matthias Lessort together, two players with a range of about 12 feet each at best.
This only made France's dribble penetration struggles worse, allowing Canada to clog the paint and giving them fewer shooters to close out on.
On offense, Canada got whatever they wanted, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander dominated. He finished with 27 points, 13 rebounds, and 6 assists to lead his team to victory.
Canada sent a loud and clear message that they are ready to play for gold, and opponents should fear them. Not the other way around.
Finland pushed Australia but ran out of gas
Finland came out like gangbusters. They attacked the paint and put Australia's lack of size to the test. They crashed the boards, and the boomers weren't entirely in sync through the first quarter-and-a-half.
Their passes were getting deflected, they were clearly still figuring out who they should play at center, and when Markannen first sat down in the second quarter Finland had extended their lead by four points by the time Markannen was back at the scorer's table.
Australia scored five quick points before Markannen was able to check back in, capped off by a Patty Mills and-one that cut the lead to three.
Australia never looked back. They led by five at halftime and then by 16 by the end of the third quarter. Josh Giddey found his groove en route to 14 points, nine rebounds, and eight assists.
Duop Reath got on terra firma after a shaky first few looks at center and ended the game with eight points, five rebounds, and two blocks.
Dante Exum was key in the third quarter. He worked his way into the teeth of Finland's defense and also knocked down two open catch-and-shoot threes.
The Fins pretty clearly ran out of gas here and were eventually overwhelmed by Australia's talent.
Phillipines brought the energy to challenge the Dominican Republic
We've got to talk about the hosts. For starters, the fans showed up, in record-setting fashion, literally. An impressive 38,115 attended their opener vs. the Dominican Republic which is a FIBA World Cup record.
The players matched the energy of the fans, and Jordan Clarkson time is in fact very fun to watch.
Clarkson exposed the Dominican Republic's weak perimeter defense time and time again, which applied more pressure on Karl-Anthony Towns to protect the rim. This is cause for concern for the DR, their perimeter defense was unacceptable, and they were fortunate the Philippines only had one player capable of consistently exploiting it.
On the other side of the ball, the Philippines were creative in dealing with Towns. They sent multiple defenders at him. Sometimes on the catch, sometimes shadowing beforehand, and sometimes they went zone.
Head coach Chot Reyes was in his bag and it made this a game from wire-to-wire. Unfortunately, Clarkson fouled out with 3:32 to go in this one and the Philippines were down 79-76.
Clarkson finished with 28 points, 7 rebounds, and 7 assists but the hosts came up short. Towns closed the game with 26 points and 10 rebounds and was supported by 18 points from Victor Liz and 12 from Andres Feliz.
The Dominican Republic survived, but they have to improve their perimeter defense, get more creative in how they set Towns up on offense, and they need more from L.J. Figueroa, Lester Quinones, and Jean Montero if they want to cause problems in this tournament.
FIBA World Cup Line of the Day: Nikola Vucevic
Chicago Bulls center Nikola Vucevic finished with 27 points and 10 rebounds in Montenegro's opener against Mexico.
FIBA World Cup Play of the Day: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander from wayyyyy downtown.
FIBA World Cup Quote of the Day: Evan Fournier
Evan Fournier was fairly succinct when asked to sum up his team's 95-65 drubbing at the hands of France.
What's coming tomorrow at the FUBA World Cup?
Cape Verde begins their first-ever FIBA World Cup appearance at 4:00 a.m. ET. Serbia and China tip off at 8:00 a.m. ET, and Team USA starts their quest for gold at 8:40 a.m. ET against New Zealand.
